December 01, 2008

Wow..... I've been MIA for a while haven't I? I totally didn't notice the time ........ being a new Mom for the fourth time makesdaysruntogether. It really does.

I thought I'd throw together a quick tutorial on how I make my rosettes as I've been getting questions about them here and there. They are super quick, easy and cheap to make! Perfect for a teachers gift or even a gift swap with friends!

Here goes.... please read this part first, boring I know but sooo necessary!

Please don't take this tutorial too seriously! It's easy, so please for the love of all that is holy, don't make it harder than it is! (Best advice I've ever, ever, ever given!)

You don't have to have a sewing machine for these..... it can be made by hand while watching Magnum P.I..... don't be hatin'! During the gathering part... just make running stitches with your needle and thread and POOF..... you got gathers!

If I leave something out..... please let me know. I'm doing this with no time to spare as I have to take my girls to the doctor this morning.... shots for my shmoozy wittle luvvy baby! WAhhhhh!

You also don't have to have a button cover...... any old button will do and shoot dang....... it looks good without a button too!

Please..... do not look too closely at my fingers. I wash my hands eleventy million times a day and don't bother slathering them with lotion ..... again, don't be hatin'!

Here we go youngins, the directions will be given under the pictures so be on the lookie out!

Measure your fabric of choice..... I cut mine 2 1/2" by the width of the fabric .... which is usually about 44" wide. This should make your rosette fabric 2 1/2" by 44". Fold it in half as you see in the photo above..... iron it to keep the crease.

Making it gather: Set your machine to the longest stitch, mine is 4.0....... your-ins own might be different, just make it loooonnngg and stitch down the center of the fabric...... it doesn't have to be right on the dot..... I've traveled way out of the canal while reaching for my Wal Mart Brand Strawberry Crystal Light and it turned out splendidly! Don't forget to leave plenty of thread to use to pull the gathers.

If'n you've never ever gathered anything in your entire life...... here's how it's done: Goto the end of the fabric..... you'll find your thread...... the thread you left to pull with remember? Take only one of the threads and pull....... do you see how it's beginning to pucker and gather a bit? Continue to do this while spreading out the jammed up area.... you'll know what I speaks of when you sees it! I promise!

This is what it should look like when you have it all gathered up. Kinda cute isn't it? (Please ignore the fact that I'm a slacker in the camera skillz department)

I use a piece of felted wool...... to be honest...... it's all I had to grab at the moment. I'm kinda lazy that way..... shocking I know! Anyhoo, take a piece of felt or felted wool or whatever you've got handy that is somewhat thicker than regular fabric........ and cut a circle. I'm quite impressed with my circle since it's totally free hand...... I rock the freehand! (It's approximately the size of the opening of a drinking glass)

Take your gathered up piece of fabric and tie a knot on the end you're going to start with. NO biggy, just a simple little knot to keep it from un-gathering. See above!

Now, lay the gathered piece of fabric on top of the wool, it should be folded in half again ....... remember to use the end that has the knot...... and start sewing it to the wool circle thingy. It's not supposed to be perfect so no worries if you didn't get it perfecto.... trust me, in the end you won't be able to tell where it started! Just sew it close to the edge and when you get to where you started....... well, just bypass it and make a new row. Kinda like when you peel an apple and try to keep the peel in one piece....... does that make a bit of sense?

See how it looks..... I just keep on sewing it round and round till I get to the center and/or run out of room for my machine foot. Go ahead and backstitch a bit to keep it in line and take it off of the machine.

See how I have a tiny bit left? I'm gonna take a needle and thread and tack it down the best I can. No neatness here folks....... it's downright messy and downright cute!

See my needle and thread! I'm just tacking the tail end down. Now, here is the part I didn't take a picture of...... because I am a dork, totally normal for me, maybe not for you BUT..... there's really no need as it's simple. You can now sew a button to the center of the rosette if'n you wish. I like to use button covers and make mine the same as the fabric I'm using....... but sometimes, I like to throw caution to the wind and really go wild by adding a regular old fashioned button ...... sometimes, just sometimes I get a bee in my bonnet and make it a different color! Wild, I know!

This one doesn't have a center but the next one does........ you do what you're little voice tells you to do...... like Magnum. His little voice talks to him allll the time!

Happy tutorial to you! I hope you enjoyed it and can get some use from it! I know it's totally not like the fancy PDF versions out there but ......... hey, it's free, fun and super cute! Make a ton and show me what you've got!

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I'll be rosetting the crud out of stuff this week for a shop update so be tuned in!

(Note: I'm a moron and am not even sure if I did the Flickr thingy right..... please let me know if I didn't!)

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Here's the tutorial I promised on how to make a tutu for the little girly person you love.

**Please read the entire tutorial before beginning.... this way you won't have any surprises**

This is a no sew project that could certainly be done with your little girly person.

This should only take about 30 minutes from beginning to end and makes a great last minute birthday present.

Sell 'em. Just don't come crying to me when you get an order for 14 batrillion like it just did! Ack!

Use more than one color per tutu if you'd like. I really love how they look when you do this! Just alternate the colors!

Please note that the hands that are captured within the photos of this here tutorial are mine and not some fat old lady with age spots....... I have freckles. I do.

Please note that if any "spots" see on the carpet that is also captured in this here tutorial have been contributed and donated by Spoodles McCarpet Crapper. (I rented a Rug Doctor last week and it worked wonders!).

Have fun with your girl........ make one for yourself and have fun with the DAD!

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Supplies:

Two rolls of 6" tulle in any color or color combination you'd like. You could certainly use more if you'd like. Two rolls takes care of any size up to probably a 4T-6. (I think anyhoo.) You could also have it cut from the bolt if you can't find the rolls....... it's cheaper but I soooo hate working with tulle for cutting. It's slippery and a pain sometimes. Cut it in 6" widths and then in half lengthwise...... you have less options with length but still works great. Do what you wish...... my Angel of a Husband says I whine too much...... maybe he's right. Uh, Maybe.

1" elastic........ enough to go around the girl tummy.

Scissors or rotary blade/cutting mat.

Your thigh.

T.V with Magnum P.I. playing

Strawberry Crystal Light with lots of ice.

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On to the tutorial......... here we go:

The first thing you need to do is measure your girl. You need to measure her tummy. I measured Amelia's tummy and then deducted about 3" from it and cut my elastic to this measurement. So, if her tummy was say 20" around then I would cut my elastic to 17". Got it? Good. After it it cut, you want to sew in with a zig zag stitch on your machine to make it a circle. (It can totally be done by hand too). Like this:

Next, you need to decide how long you wish your tutu to be. Do you want it short and poofy or long and puffy. Take your measuring tape and measure from her waist to where you want the tutu to end. Double this measurement. For instance, in this tutorial I wanted this tutu to go down to about 15" when it's done. So, I cut the tulle at 30". I like to lay the two rolls together and cut them at the same time. I also would rather cut it on my mat with my rotary cutter but I didn't want to go out in the dark and get mauled by frogs so, I used my scissors! Like this:

Then this:

Then I pile it up neatly like this:

Okay ...... this is how I do it. This is just a suggestion as you can figure out your way if you'd like but so far........ this is the easiest!

I like to have a seat on the couch and prop my foot up on the coffee/Dr. Pepper/Tea table. I slip the elastic on and pull it up to my thigh........ like a garter. Here's the picture:

Now the fun. If'n you can tie a knot, then you can make this part. Take one piece of the cut tulle and slip it under the elastic and even up the ends so that each side has equal amounts of tulle........ now tie a double knot. (This is why we doubled our length earlier before cutting the tulle.) That's all there is to it from here on out. Just take them one by one and tie it on the elastic in a double knot until it fills up. Like this:

Then just keep adding:

Try to aim the knot part towards the bottom so it will lay nicely. Fill it up as much as you wish or as little. This is all up to you. You're girl could sooooo do this for herself or a little friend! Here are some pictures of them in different colors!

January 24th, 2009:

All remaining fabric in my Etsy shop is now $5.00-$6.50 per yard! Mention my blog in the comments section at checkout and I'll deduct 15% off of your total before shipping!!

5. Have fun trying this out. It truly is lots of fun once you get the hang of it! Email me if you have any questions or if I confused you......... I'll email you back and probably confuse you again! Enjoy!

Tomorrow I'll be working on my new Etsy shop! I'm so stoked about this and have some smocks for kids, a couple of pieced baby quilts and three purses made from vintage pillowcases! I've been trying to keep busy so I won't eat everything in sight. It hasn't worked! Damn!